Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Next Wednesday Update... ;-)

I was hoping to start on a new run of  Titanium WilkinsGRIP BMG X2 grips this week but when the shipment of titanium arrived, the 5mm thick plate had somehow become ... 6mm. Now I buy this stuff from a large, reputable dealer here in Germany so I called and said, hey, looks like somebody cut up the wrong piece of titanium! They replied, "No! That is 5mm ... it's just OVERSIZE." I shit you not. Are we talking "Relaxed Fit?" Are well talking jeans or titanium sheet?

So I asked, well, is the 4mm I ordered and received actually oversized 3mm? Why even have thicknesses? Just sell 1mm OVERSIZED?. Is a $5 bill an undersized $10 bill? Next time I buy something for $10 I'll hand over a $5 and try that line, see if it works.

Long and the short of it ... I ain't got no damn 5mm titanium like I thought. I already bought $500 worth of carbide cutters to mill it with. So I am looking for some real, actual 5mm Ti. If I find any, I will make those Titanium grips.

In the meantime I do have 2-3 sets of Titanium grips for the Mini Griptilian left in stock. I received some more 4mm titanium, so I will be making another run of Minis in the near future too.

I ended up buying the 6mm titanium sheet for a reduced price. I am such an idiot. I don't know what I will make out of it now. With the future of my shop still very much in doubt, I am only buying new materials I plan on using in the near future.

I am still spending a lot of time looking at real estate -- or at least looking through real estate ads -- trying to find a new location for my shop. Several times I thought I had something, but nothing panned out. Right now there are a couple of things in the works, keep your fingers crossed one will work out. I'm loosing my mind.

If anyone in the Berlin area has any CNC machining work, let me know, I will need to keep my machines running more hours in the future in order to pay the higher rent. Doesn't need to be knife-related. Must be profit-related! Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.